A Dear Friend
by asrie1
Summary: Two children cross paths in their journeys to find and save their loved ones [Undertale x Majora's Mask crossover; first attempt in years at writing fanfiction. T rating for eventual Flowey-based violence]
1. Prologue

The child's hands shook as they stared at the button in their mind, the words "TRUE RESET" glowing in the darkness around them...The little flower had begged them not to do it. But it was for that little flower that they were about to.

Frisk sighed to themself, hands sweaty and shaking. They hated this. They hated that they were about to rip everything away from everyone again. From Toriel. From Asgore. From Sans...

But they had to do this. They had to save the one who deserved it most. Even the voice in their mind, known only as Chara, had begged them.

 _"I can't leave Azzy like that, Frisk."_ They had cried. Chara had wept in their mind harder than Frisk did when Asriel begged them to leave him behind. For all their adventure, Frisk had never heard that sassy and snarky voice hold such sadness.

And that was all it took. Frisk ground their teeth and pushed the button.

In a flash, everything was white and then black.

And then they were surrounded by flowers.

"Howdy! Hehehe..."

But something was wrong-

 **"You shouldn't have done that..."**

* * *

The young boy gave a short 'hiya' as he spurred his horse on; the small mare, barely a yearling, seemed to be growing tired as she carried her young master up the mountain trail. It had been merely a month since the young boy, known only as Link, had left the land of Termina in search of a dear friend.

And yet still he had made it nowhere in the end. Of course, he saved a whole land, and even before that he had saved his homeland from evil in an adventure that even now he wasn't sure was real.

But his true goal was to find his friend, and that's what lead him up this mountain. Rumor had it that magic existed in high concentrations there...Faeries liked to gather in places like this. As Link and his steed approached the peak, the horse snorted as if to tell him something. Link patted her on the neck.

"We're almost there, Epona." he murmured. "Sorry we haven't stopped yet, but maybe we'll find a fairy fountain up here...And you know what that could mean." Epona swiveled her ears back in acknowledgment before continuing her trot up the trail. Link pat her again, smiling a litte to himself, but sighing as he raised back up. As smooth as this trek was going, he still felt a bit of uneasiness as he ascended the mountain. Like something was crawling on his back...

It was when they reached the threshold where grass became snow that Link began to feel it; The magic came in pulses, hard and heavy and almost painful to the young Hylian. As the feeling intensified, he gently tapped his heels to Epona's sides, urging her to go faster. The magic was strong...But it didn't feel malicious. It almost felt familiar, stern even...if magic could feel stern.

Suddenly, Epona reared up, neighing loudly and kicking at something unseen in front of her. Link yelled, holding on tight to her reigns.

"Epona!" Link yelled, almost getting ripped off of her as she suddenly broke into a sprint. He tried to get a handle on the obviously spooked horse, not noticing the intensifying magic feeling around him as she ran as fast as she could through the snow. Link was getting lightheaded, whether from altitude or the intense pulses coming from the peak, he wasn't sure. Perhaps those pulses are what had his steed so freaked out...

And then, he was falling. He had lost the grip on his frightened horse as she skid to a stop. He braced himself for impact with the snow and rock, but it never came...instead he was falling faster and farther, just now realizing he was falling down a ravine of some sort, or a hole in the peak.

 _'This was much too far...'_ he thought, feeling the magic pulses grow stronger and fade, as if he was falling through a cloud cover or a barrier.

His last thoughts as his vision faded were _'At least Epona didn't fall...'_


	2. Fallen Down

If this was death, it was soft. And it smelled nice. Like the forest...and sort of like the castle too. A garden would be the easiest way to describe it. Link decided then that maybe death wasn't so bad if it smelled like every iteration of home, which it had been a little while since he'd seen. He could have sworn he even smelled a warm fire somewhere around...

But then the dull pounding ache in his body told him "no, you are not dead. rest wont come that easily." and with a groan, he raised up. His bruises were screaming for him not to; he was at least going to honor his pounding head's request to not open his eyes until he was sat all the way up. So with eyes squeezed shut, he found himself running a hand through his blond hair and groaning again when he felt a wetness that was surely blood. When he finally willed his sore eyes open he chanced a glance at his hand, and sure enough sticky redness coated his fingertips. He sighed, standing and looking around at the...

Flowers. Many flowers in a dark room with wall to wall ruins. Perhaps it was once an ancient castle or something...He must have fallen into a cavern underneath the mountain, and this time there was no fairy's magic to help him back up.

He stepped onto one of the fallen pillars in the room, trying to see if there was perhaps a way to climb...Epona was probably still at the peak, but it had been a long fall. Almost like the one that lead him to...-

"Howdy! Wow, you're the second person who's fallen down today! What's the occasion?" Link spun around, his muscles tense as he looked for the source of the too-cheerful voice. "Hee hee...I'm over here, silly!" His blue eyes scanned the room and the flower patch...Finally coming eye to eye with a small flower that stood out from the others...Mainly because unlike it's yellow brethren, this one had eyes and a grinning mouth.

"Huh...?" Link was confused. This wasn't like any deku creature he'd met. The creature was purely a flower, no clapping jaws or nozzle-nose for spitting nuts. It- no, he- swayed a little on his stem, smiling sweetly. If Link wasn't so on edge, he'd have even found the little thing cute and charming as it bounced, humming a little tune.

"You're definitely new here!" the flower giggled, his leaves flapping excitedly. "My name's Flowey, and I'll be your guide here in the underground!" he chirped. Link unconsciously perked up at the word 'guide'...his last one had been Tatl, and any chance to not be totally alone was a good one, especially in a circumstance where he needed help like now. "Judging by the shield on your back, you look like you're the fighting type, huh?" Flowey said, tapping his chin with a leaf. Shield...? Why didn't the flower notice his sword- Oh crap. Link groped at his back for his weapon, and realized with slowly raising terror he had left it strapped to Epona, along with most of his provisions. The only reason he had his shield was because he had been using it to protect himself when the snow started.

"Um..."

"No worries!" Flowey giggled. "Here in the underground, we don't fight! As a matter of fact, we make friends! But it's a little different from how you surface dwellers do it."

"Then how?" Link asked, genuinely curious as he hopped down to stand closer to Flowey.

"Down here," Flowey started, "Friends are made through an exchange of these things." He spread his leaves, little white orbs, shaped almost liked seeds, materializing above him. "We call them 'Friendliness pellets'! When someone throws you a friendliness pellet, you have to catch one!" The little orbs spun in place, slowly drifting toward Link. "Be sure to catch as many as you can, that way I'll know I can trust you!"

'Friendliness Pellets...' Link thought, narrowing his eyes a little. That sounded completely suspicious and quite frankly, a little stupid. But at the same time, he wasn't sure he wanted to offend this mysterious new friend, especially since so far the tiny and seemingly harmless flower was the closest thing to his ticket back up.

Hesitant, Link reached forward and snatched one of the pellets...

And it burned. Oh Goddesses it burned! He let out a yell, trying to let go of the pellet, but it had already burned his skin, leaving an angry red welt in his palm as if he had grabbed something corrosive. As he hissed in pain, he heard Flowey's giggle...then a laugh...then an outright cackle. Turning back to face the flower and fully ready to tell him off, Link gasped as he was greeted by two maniac red eyes and a mouth full of grinning sharp teeth, still framed by the harmless-looking six golden petals.

"You IDIOT!" Flowey, or what was once Flowey, cackled, his red eyes bulging in a way that sent a familiar ping of terror down Link's spine. "If you really are a fighter, then you'd know as well as anyone! In a world like this it's **KILL OR BE KILLED!** "

And suddenly, a whole ring of the little burning pellets was around Link, their tips pointing at his chest and spine as the flower cackled madly. He tried to move, but it just seemed to bring the pellets closer. He unconsciously reached for his sword, remembering too late his mistake and grabbed his shield instead, holding it in front of him in a pathetic attempt to shake off the pellets. He squeezed his eyes shut, knowing full well that this many hits along with his injuries from the fall might be enough to wound him fatally...

All at once, they shot at him, and he screamed as the pain tore through his body...

* * *

Frisk was scared this time...

At first, everything had been fine and gone the way it was meant to. The reset flashed them to the flower bed, and everything was just as gold and serene as ever. Even when Asriel- Flowey, they tried to respect Asriel's wishes and view them as different people- showed up, Frisk turned to face him as any other time, not an ounce of fear in their eyes.

They had dodged his friendliness pellets, the flower growing more furious each time one passed. Even when the energy around the plant distorted, Frisk kept their calm. But, at the point they remember him giving up and surrounding them with pellets, something different happened.

Instead of the smug toothy grin he usually sported, Flowey's face turned blank, solid white like the flowers around him. And then it began to morph...first, spikes grew out of either side of his face, then horns...and finally, his eyes returned, only this time, they were large and bugging from his head. Frisk had never seen this face before, in any of their resets. And then he spoke in a voice that was his and not his at once as the pellets surrounded them, feeling much more aggressive than before.

 **"You shouldn't have done that..."**

What was different? Why did this happen now and never before? They had panicked then, the sudden notion entering their mind. _'If this is different, then what else has changed? Will Toriel save me?'_

Thankfully, and Frisk nearly cried when she appeared, the motherly boss monster showed up as she always did, blowing the little beast away with a fireball before gently leading the child through the dungeon.

That's where they were now, Frisk holding onto Toriel's hand. They tried to hide that they were shaken up, even though given the circumstances even without the anomaly, it would have been understandable for a ten year old to be frightened.

As they walked in near silence with Toriel through the ruins, Frisk was soon to learn that Flowey's unusual face hadn't been the only anomaly with this reset...

That became apparent when a very pained, very human scream reached their ears... Toriel had heard the scream before Frisk even had a chance to fully register it, the boss monster spinning on her heels to look back to the entrance to the ruins...

"Surely not..." she whispered, her voice holding a horrified edge that Frisk did not like one bit. Half because it was Toriel, sounding terrified. And half because _this wasn't supposed to happen this has never happened._ "My child..." Toriel said, smiling sweetly and calmly and obviously hiding her fear. "I want you to stay here while I-"

But Frisk was having none of it. Before she could finish her sentence, the child was at a full sprint back in the direction they came from, eyes narrowed in determination. "Child!" Toriel yelled, the fear still thick in her voice. Luckily they hadn't even been past the first puzzle, so it wasn't a long run to find the source of the scream...

Frisk barely caught a glimpse of Flowey as the devious flower drug himself back into the earth, scared off by the footsteps of the kid and the following monster. They panted softly from their run, looking around the dimly lit room...Their soft eyes widened in shock at the sight: There, in the middle of the flowers where they had previously fallen, lay a boy. Clad head to toe in a green outfit, the boy wasn't much older than Frisk, if at all. He was barely conscious, his breathing labored from what was obviously pain; Frisk noticed the tell-tale signs of Flowey's weapons burned across his shoulders, and a bloody matted mess of hair on his head, possibly having been injured from falling. A toy(?) shield lay abandoned next to him, burn marks etched across its surface as well.

"Oh dear..." Frisk heard Toriel murmur behind them. The injured child looked up at the two of them, dragging himself up to a sitting position. He tensed at the sight, weakly reaching for his shield. He was scared, but a fire burned in his bright blue eyes that showed he was determined not to fall here. "Child..." Toriel said softly. "Please do not be afraid. I am Toriel, keeper of the ruins..." she hesitantly stepped closer, holding a gentle paw out to the second fallen child as Frisk held onto her robe, nervous. "As I'm sure you can see, you are the second person to fall down here today. It's a very rare occasion for even one..." she said. The boy recoiled a bit, all but glaring at the monster...given what he surely just endured, Frisk couldn't blame him, even if they didn't like the look he was giving someone who'd eventually be their mother. They stepped forward then, hoping their presence would ease the boy's tension if even just a bit.

The sight of Frisk seemed to work, as the little boy glanced their way before hesitantly taking Toriel's hand and allowing her to help him stand. "Ah..." he hissed, the pain in his palm flaring at the contact.

"Poor thing." Toriel said, turning his hand in hers to see the injury. "That little gremlin did a number on you; It seems to just linger around here, targeting anything it can get its beady little eyes on." She sighed. "I can heal your wounds."

"Heal...?" the boy asked, his eyes seeming to light up in spite of their suspicion. Toriel smiled, holding his hand in both of hers as her magic flowed into him. And just like that, the wounds began to close, the blood matting his hair faded, and even the small dings and bumps he had gotten on the way up the mountain began to fade. Frisk smiled, recalling the feeling when Toriel healed them; it was always pleasant, healing magic. Like a warm hug that permeated your entire body and left you feeling better than before.

The boy still seemed to have sparkles in his eyes when Toriel was finished. "Now then." The motherly monster began, "I suppose now I will have to prepare for two guests." she smiled widely, not at all seeming put off by this; if anything she looked excited. "Come along this way, I will lead you through the catacombs."

 **...**

Shaken probably wasn't the correct term to use to describe Link at this moment, but he was definitely on edge. The monster Toriel did not really send off alarm bells; goodness knows he'd met stranger beings in his adventures and even BEEN stranger beings, but after Flowey he wasn't quite sure who he could trust. Still, she gave off an air of maternal protection and serene power not much unlike a female Great Deku Tree, and therefore he was more inclined to trust the old monster. The other child currently holding her hand as if she were their mother simply added to that feeling of comfort.

Plus, she did heal him...the feeling was like being healed by the Great Faerie but warmer, and he once again had to push back feelings of nostalgia. Link shook his head, not willing to let himself fall into that feeling; it'd gotten him in trouble before for sure...

As the three walked, Toriel glanced at the two children, smiling sweetly. "Now then," she began, coming to a door in the purple tinted brick. "I would like to ask you two a favor." the child perked up, seeming to know what was going on. Link, on the other hand, tilted his head like a confused pup. "I want the two of you to traverse this room alone; I want you to wait here for a moment and enter on your own... I hope you will forgive me for this." she stated simply, giving a sweet if not sad smile before turning on her heels and stepping through the door, closing it behind her.

"Huh...?" Link wondered out loud. Was the next room dangerous? Would there be more Floweys? He looked at the other kid, a look of questioning on his face. They looked at him and smiled, their grin almost as gentle as Toriels.

"She does this." they stated. "She wants to make sure we're independent."

"By...by asking us to go to the other end of a room?" Link asked.

"Yup. It's long, but there's nothing there that can hurt us." the child said, "My name is Frisk, by the way."

"Pleasure." Link said with a polite nod. "I'm Link. I'm...obviously not from here."

"No one is." Frisk all but chirped. "Down here, it's just monsters." Link gave them a look.

"Okay...Frisk..." he said, turning to them "Toriel said you fell down just a bit before me...So...So how do you know this?" Frisk visibly tensed up, fidgeting with the sleeves of their sweater.

"It's a very long story...Come with me; she should be ready for us now. I'll tell you everything, but you gotta promise to keep it between us...After all, this is the first time you've showed up..."


	3. FIGHT

**AN** : I know the independence room is later in the ruins, but I needed to give Link and Frisk a chance to talk before the adventure begins, and a long hallway without Toriel was ideal.

* * *

"My name is Frisk. If everything goes okay, then I'm going to be the ambassador of monsters. The reason I know this is because I've done it three times before." The child in the striped sweater explained, walking alongside the new adition to the underground. "The first time, I hurt people, because I didn't know I shouldn't. The second time, I was trapped...the third time I saved most of monsterkind."

The smaller human was certainly mature, in Link's eyes, especially since they seemed so much younger than him. They spoke like someone who'd seen many lifetimes, yet still held a childlike quality to their tone...the fact that they seemed to be unconsciously holding his hand as they walked added to the childlike innocence they held. It was something Link himself was all too familiar with. But still, despite how friendly they seemed, this bit of information dumping was getting hard to keep up with, especially with no explanation to how they could do it...so he had to ask, "How?"

"How?"

"How did you do this three times?" he asked, shrugging a shoulder. Frisk squeezed his hand, seeming nervous all over again. "I mean...you told me all this, you gotta tell me how." Link reasoned, smiling a little so as not to come off forceful.

"Well...It's gonna sound weird, and you're probably not going to believe me." Frisk said, glancing away from him. "But I can...um...I can do this thing, you see...I-I'll have to show you later, because I know you're not gonna believe me, b-but I can...reset...time..."

Link froze, his boots scuffing the floor. "Reset time...?" he could only stare at them, wide eyed. It was then he became acutely aware of the slightly weighted pouch on his hip. He thought he had left it with Epona and his weapons, but that was silly...He'd never let go of the precious gift from the Princess. The ocarina...Yes he still had the Ocarina of Time.

Link was too lost in his shock to notice Frisk completely avert their eyes, having let go of his hand the moment he repeated their words. They turned their back on him, but he could make out a red shade creeping up their ears. "I knew you wouldn't believe me...it sounds really dumb, huh-"

"No!" Link yelped, putting a hand on their shoulder. "Not at all! I-I mean...Frisk, I've seen that before! I've seen time travel and resets..." They turned to look at him, one eyebrow up in doubt. "I mean it! I've...um...It doesn't matter! I believe every word you say!" he announced cheerfully, hopping to their front so they were facing him. Frisk tilted their head, but smiled.

"So...if I tell you the rest of my story, will you believe me?" they asked.

"Of course!"

* * *

They had nearly reached the end of the room, and Link's mind was reeling. Frisk had fallen down three resets ago, and met Flowey. They had a guide that he couldn't see, who could somehow tell them everything about a monster ('Just like Navi' Link mused sadly). This guide, Chara, had been with them through every reset. Their last reset is the one where they helped break the barrier ("That magic you felt when you fell...it keeps monsters underground.."), though they seemed hesitant to give many details on that. When Link had asked them why a third reset when everything had ended happily, Frisk had simply said...

"I have a very dear friend to save..."

Link didn't have time to let himself fall into sympathetic understanding, as the smaller child slapped him on the back suddenly, pointing to a pillar in the ruins.

"Watch this." They said; any of their previous sorrowful wisdom seemed to have been replaced by a more fitting playfullness as a mischevious grin spread on their face. They began to tiptoe to the pillar, hands out in front of them like they were immitating a sneaky monster. They made their way to the pillar...And jumped behind it with a loud and playful "Rah!"

"Oh dear! My child you frightened me!"

Link couldn't hold back a soft smile as a giggling Toriel stepped out from behind the pillar, Frisk holding her hand with a proud look on their face. She smiled wider when she saw Link. "Well well, you both did wonderfully...I'm glad to see you can hold your own in the ruins." she said, patting the Hylian child on the head (He fought the urge to give her an indignant look, knowing she meant nothing short of well)

As the old monster lead the two children through the next door, Link noticed something...

For the first time since before Termina, he felt safe.

The next room was significantly smaller than the last; a simple short L-shaped corridor with...something, standing in the corner. The fact that Toriel had stopped when she and the two children entered showed Link that she was planning something else. Frisk, however, seemed utterly relaxed.

"Alright, Children." Toriel said. "As humans living in the underground, you may incounter hostile monsters." Frisk gave a nod, as Link looked on in concern. "I must urge you, do not fight them. Instead, I suggest perhaps a friendly conversation. Introduce yourself, let them know you mean no harm."

"But what if they don't give you a chance?" Link caught himself asking.

"Then I will be there in no time to assist you." Toriel answered quickly, the speed catching him off guard. Before he had a chance to ask how, Toriel had walked to whatever it was standing in the corner. She pulled it into the light, revealing a...

Dummy.

It was off-white and rather soft looking, definitely more of a dress-makers dummy than a fighting dummy.

"Now then, my dears, I want you to practice with this dummy. Pretend it's a monster ready to attack." Toriel said, stepping to the side and allowing the two kids to step forward. The dummy, as expected, didn't budge. Frisk made the first move.

"Hi there!" They chirped, waving.

Link gave them a quizzical look, whispering, "You're not actually playing along, are you?"

"Of course! It makes Mo-Toriel happy. Try it." Frisk said, stepping aside a little to give Link the center ground. He looked at the dummy, staring at it as if waiting for it to make a move in his stead. It was probably a horrible time to bring up his own social anxieties, trying to imagine how to speak to a monster instead of fight. But this was a dummy, there was nothing to worry about here. Instead of speaking up, he gave a small wave...And the dummy, in all of its cotten stuffed, button eyed glory...

Did.

Not.

Move.

"...G'job." Frisk said, their sarcasm not lost in their sweet voice. Link turned to glare at them very quickly, before turning back to the dummy. He always had trouble speaking when there wasn't a topic at hand to even start from.

"Um..." Okay even he was starting to embarrass himself at this point. In another attempt at being 'friendly', he reached out and patted the dummy on the nose. But it still wasn't quit what they were going for; obviously you couldn't pat an actual enemy on the nose as a greeting...

Suddenly, the dummy began to move, just a small levitation, and Link nearly screamed, stepping back. He looked to Frisk to question them, but they had their hand over their mouth in what Link read as shock...then, the dummy began to float.

Link was already on the defensive, taking his shield...as the dummy floated back to it's corner and rested there. Link was confused.

"I-I guess..." Frisk began, and Link's ears turned red as he realized they were holding back laughter, "I guess it got tired of your aimless shenanigans..."

Without a word, Link strapped his shield back onto his back and stormed toward the door. Toriel, who'd been watching the whole time, could only give him a semi-sympathetic head pat.

"Even so, you both did well." she said. The old monster thought she heard the embarrassed child mumble something as Frisk ran to her side...

"...I didn' know it was alive..."

* * *

 **AN** : It's always fun writing Link in a childish way; you gotta think, he's like 11 at the most by Majora's Mask.


End file.
